App Review: Nike + Running

Hey guys,
Kevin here from the MNBKS Fitness team coming with something a little different today. I've been using the Nike+ Running app for iOS and Android lately and thought I would give you guys my thoughts.

So as most people know, running is one of the simplest, easiest, and most effective forms of cardio. Just a little bit everyday will build your muscles, improve cardio vascular fitness, burn plenty of kilojoules, and even strengthen your bones!
The Nike+ Running app aims to add elements of 'Web 2.0' and social networking to your runs to help make then less 'boring', and motivate and drive you towards your fitness goals.

When you start Nike+ Running for the first time you're presented with the main feature app. Essentially it's an app designed to track the route (through GPS), distance, time, pace, splits and NikeFuel of your run.
All of this data is stored and available to you at any time and therefore can act as a very powerful tool for the setting and achieving of goals.
You might want to be able run an extra kilometre next week. Run a kilometre 30 seconds faster? Increase your pace for next time? All of this is trackable through the Nike+ Running app.
When you're finished you can even share your run on Facebook directly through the app and get cheered on by your friends.









Competing against yourself and beating your previous goals however is only the start. The best motivation comes when you're competing against others right? The Nike+ Running app allows you to do just that. You can set challenges for you and your friends, complete with a full, real-time leaderboard.














The Nike+ Running app has definitely made running more fun and interesting for me whilst I've been using it. Setting and beating personal goals, and fighting for every metre so that my name is on the top of that leaderboard was really motivating for me.

All in all I hope this review was of some use to you guys, the app is definitely worth checking out. Also did I mention that it was FREE!? What more could you ask for?

Be fit, be happy, and get to running!

-Kevin

Training Hard vs Training Smart

For many people embarking the fitness journey, getting to the gym is the biggest problem and once in the gym, they often don’t know what to do. The most common thing I have experienced with people starting out is that enough is never enough. People want to go 6 times a week and each session they plan to do every single machine in the span of one hour or less or incorporate 50+ working sets. Whilst I am guilty of training like this in the past, a workload of such is simply unrealistic and unsustainable unless you are a professional athlete, enhanced or Russian. One has to remember that whilst fitness should be a core component of our lives, it shouldn’t be the only thing we expend energy for.

This problem is most likely going to occur with a beginner lifter who is transitioning into an intermediate lifter. They often still have the mindset of a beginner lifter, eager to do everything, however their bodies won’t be able to recover in the same way that a beginner would as they are lifting more weight and using their CNS more efficiently. As a result of not being able to fully recover for the next workout, they will constantly feel fatigued and without the needed rest, may result in overtraining and/or injury.

An easy solution to this problem is to have smart programming. For beginner lifters, programs such as starting strength by Mark Rippetoe or Mehdi’s 5x5 stronglifts program are a great place to start and as they progress they may look into programs such as The Texas Method or Billstar’s 5x5. These programs may or may not be suitable for the goals of individuals not looking to gain strength and have other goals in mind.

Lord Rippetoe beams upon you as you descend below parallel in the squat

In the end it’s fine to train hard, but train smart as well.

Be fit, be happy.

Cardio workout

Hi guys guess who's back with some fitness tips. Great work there Kev and Boris, good pointers about the big 3 and great motivational post about having goals. So what I have in stock today are some advice regarding cardio. So how would you define cardio exercise? Cardio exercise is a form of physical exercise of low to high intensity that depends primarily on the aerobic energy-generating process.^[1] Some common cardio workout is jogging on a park or running on a treadmill. While these exercise does serve the purpose of cardio workout, in my opinion it is one dimensional. Don't you think so? So how about trying a sport instead or Zumba or maybe even a form of mixed martial arts :D Let's not get carried away there, for beginners let's just stick to sport or Zumba. :)

Now Zumba is a form of cardio exercise that's growing in popularity. I think it's great and works as a cardio workout and you can even learn a form of dance through it. For those who are not keen on dancing, getting involved in a sport is a great choice. For example indoor soccer, basket ball, tennis or maybe badminton but none of that golf stuff. I don't see how that's a workout. :P Anyways back to point, considering sport for a workout. So the benefit of such a workout is that you are covering the part of cardio exercise that you would normally cover while jogging, on top of that you are working on your stamina, agility and sense of team work as well. Overall the experience can motivate you further. You don't necessarily have to be good at the sport but that's the beauty of it, you can get better through commitment and in due time besides maintaining fitness, the sport is a new skill attained. That's like hitting two targets with one arrow. Achieving such a goal in context, you will be FIT and you will HAPPY ;)

That's all for now, keep an eye out for our next post. In the mean time 
work hard, 
play hard.
Be fit, be happy.


Reference:

1.  Sharon A. Plowman; Denise L. Smith (1 June 2007). Exercise physiology for health, fitness and performance. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-7817-8406-1. Retrieved 3 October 2014.

Goals

Goals in life are one of the most powerful assets one can have, and fitness is no exception to this idea. We often embark on a road of fitness envisioning the end result, a perfect body with the corresponding perfect lifestyle. Whilst having a long-term goal as such is fine, one must remember that the road to fitness is a marathon rather than a sprint. Therefore I believe it is important to have short term goals on top of long term goals.

A short term goal is something attainable in around a month, whilst a long term goal may only be obtainable in a couple of years or so. As an aspiring powerlifter, my short-term goals at any point may be a 10 kg increase to my total (in powerlifting a total refers to the one rep maxes of the squat, benchpress and deadlift added together), or an improvement on my technique for a particular lift, however my long term goals may be to total a particular number or to be able to compete in a particular weight class.

In the end, having realistic short term goals is more important than having the most optimistic long term goal. Achieving a monthly short term goal is a big confidence booster, and will motivate one to keep going and pursue the next target weight, lift or lap time. Before you know it, the optimistic long term goal you had before is nothing more than a goal for the end of the month!

Most importantly, be fit, be happy. 

The Big 3

Hey guys, Kevin here from the team at MNBKS Fitness. Today I was doing a very standard weightlifting routine not necessarily for powerlifting or bodybuilding, but for building strength and burning calories, and thought I would walk you guys through it.
As the title suggests, it consists of three exercises: back squats, bench press and deadlifts.
Doing these three together is great because they target all the major muscle groups, making sure you burn calories, build muscle and most importantly get fit.
When choosing a weight, its important to listen to your body and not your ego. The only person you're competing with here is yourself. So choose a weight that you can do five reps with relative ease, and where by the eighth rep you're struggling to an extent.
For this workout I stuck to 3 sets of 5-8 reps of each exercise, but feel free to modify to your liking.
Also, remember for all three exercises, proper form is key for getting the most out of your workout and avoiding injury.

First up we've got back squats. So with feet shoulder width apart, take a deep breath, step underneath the bar with your hands on the barbell in a comfortable position and un-rack the weight.

Take another deep breath and start the squat. Make sure your knees stay in line with your feet the entire way through. Go as deep as you feel comfortable and exhale on the way back up. Its as simple as that. 

Next up is everyone's favourite, bench press. Remember choose a weight where you should be struggling by the eighth rep, or even the fifth. 

With the barbell gripped slightly wider than shoulder width, feet planted firmly on the floor (or toes pointed to the ground) and knees bent at about eighty degrees you're ready to start. 

Lift the weight off the rack and tighten the muscles in your torso. Inhale as you lower the weight. 

Once the weight reaches your chest and lightly touches it, explode back up. It is important to not bounce the weight off your chest when you're lowering the bar for obvious injury reasons and because you won't be getting the full effect of the exercise. The bar should travel slightly backwards as you press going from above your chest to over your face at the top. That's one rep.

Finally we have the deadlift. With the weight resting on the ground step to it, squat down, and grip the barbell with an overhand grip that is slightly outside your legs.

Make sure that you keep a neutral spine throughout the movement keeping your lower back flat.

To begin the lift, take a deep breath, keep your chin and chest up, and drive your heels through the floor. 

During the lift, focus on driving your chest up and your hips forward. 

The last step at the top of the lift is to "lockout" but fully extending your knees and hips and pulling your shoulders tight. It is important to lockout with good posture and not to go as far as to arch your back.

So that's it, a basic, effective weightlifting routine for you guys out there. You can never go wrong with the big 3. Hope you enjoyed this one, and remember be fit, be happy.

Kevin

Welcome to MNBKS Fitness

Be fit, be happy should be a motto of life.

People often confuse themselves between being fit and having a ripped physique. You don’t have to be ripped to be fit. Getting a ripped physique comes second to fitness. In my opinion, fitness is a combination of healthy diet in conjunction with regular exercise. Whether it’s walking to work, jogging every morning or a gym session after work, one needs to have a certain amount of exercise to remain fit. After you have an active lifestyle, it’s advisable to go towards shredding all the unnecessary fat and developing some lean muscle. With a little determination, you can achieve your desired physique. Be fit, be happy.